Friday, October 12, 2007

The Enzyme

I came across a very intriguing DVD a few months ago that, at first, I thought was a little tacky. Though I didn't actually watch the DVD, I went on the website and viewed the trailer and was very impressed by it. It is produced by Enzyme Productions and the first DVD is called [Re:]ally.

The reason for my skepticism is because it is very Rob Bell/Nooma-esque in its approach. But I think, judging from the trailer, that it is a whole lot better than Nooma and it seeks to go deeper than that series. Starring David Asscherick, [Re:]ally is geared towards the secular audience and the questions they may grapple with concerning God. One of my friends, Justin Kim, is a writer and producer for the series, and I applaud these guys for thinking outside the box. Though Asscherick, et al., are cut out of "conservative cloth," you have to tip your hat your hat for them. They have gone far beyond anything 3ABN has ever produced.

I would encourage you to check out the website here, maybe even order a DVD. I know that I plan on getting one soon. I think it will be very effective in the secular audience in which I live and minister (and, no, I don't get any royalties from this plug).

2 comments:

trevan said...

What don't you like about Nooma? I think they're very well done and like Rob Bell a lot.

This production looks solid as well but it's totally a Nooma rip-off.

Anonymous said...

Hey Shawn this is Tim Perenich from the Seminary...perhaps you remember me.

Either way I am going to leave a comment.

I watched the video that you are referencing and I must say that I am unimpressed. I think the greatest problem we as Adventist have is that we have all been sold on this postmodernism shill.

We have been led to believe that there are flourishing communities of scholar/agnostic deep thinkers who will not respond to the "traditional" evangelistic approach. The problem is with this model is that I rarely encounter anyone like that in secular world. The truth is outside of esoteric academic institutions critical thinking agnostic postmoderns do not exist. The vast majority of people are those who watch more than 5 hours of TV a day and believe whatever they are told by church leaders, friends, and the television. The fact is that 1 out 20 High School graduates cannot even find America (AMERICA!) on a map. Most cannot tell you who won the revolutionary war (in the United States). This hardly describes a group of enlightened thinkers who question the merits of Christianity. Yet why do the churches and pastor do back flips to cater to generation of people that do not exist...maybe it is because we are the tail of a trend and not the head. (Keep also in mind that most academics outside of obtuse Adventist institutions have moved on from postmodernism, which was big in the 70s until the mid-80s, to something else.)

Finally, I do not think that [RE]ally's mystical approach to Christianity is going to have the impact with "postmoderns" as they suppose. My brother is philosophy major and agnostic. He would laugh at this video and role his eyes at the emotional manipulation involved in it. What my brother needs is evidence, not some appeal to family, children, and some cosmic savior. The truth is that this approach does not reach the secular or the unbelieving, but rather comforts the lukewarm and appeals to their false sense of Christianity. Perhaps in other videos Assherick and company will redeem themselves. I certainly hope so. I am tire of St. Francis of Asisi evangelism and spiritual formation. It is destroying the church and weakening evangelism.